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(Exodus 23:6) commands: "You shall not incline the judgment of your needy one in his quarrel." The Mekhilta asks why this verse is necessary when (Exodus 23:3) already says: "You s...
The Mekhilta confronts one of the hardest questions in any legal system: what happens when you know the defendant is guilty — not of this particular charge, but in general? The ver...
(Exodus 23:7) says: "And a clean one and a righteous one you shall not kill." The Mekhilta applies this to a specific judicial scenario involving imprecise testimony. Suppose one w...
If they saw him pursuing another to kill him, the knife in his hand, and they said to him: Be it known to you that he is a son of the covenant, and the Torah writes "and a clean on...
Yehudah ben Tabbai once entered a ruin and found a man in his death throes. A knife dripping with blood was in the hand of another man — clearly the murderer. Yehudah turned to the...
The Mekhilta offers a powerful interpretation of the verse "and a clean one and a righteous one you shall not kill," revealing it as a cornerstone of Jewish criminal justice — a pr...
A man stands trial in a human court. The evidence is examined. The witnesses are questioned. And by the strict standards of Torah law, the defendant walks free — acquitted, vindica...
The Mekhilta presents one of the most hopeful arguments in all of rabbinic literature, built on a simple logical structure called kal va-chomer — an argument from lesser to greater...
—in Torah. You say, the wise in Torah, but perhaps (the meaning is) "the wise," literally; it is, therefore, written "blinds pikchim"—the bright of mind, who rule clean or unclean ...
Rabbi Nathan interpreted the verse "and perverts the words of the righteous" (Exodus 23:8) as referring to something far more severe than ordinary judicial corruption. The one who ...
"and the stranger": This refers to a ger toshav (a "sojourning stranger [one who shuns idolatry and observes the seven Noachide laws]). But perhaps it refers to a ger tzedek (a "ri...
This tells me only of non-consecrated food (as being thus forbidden). Whence do I derive (the same for) consecrated food? How can you ask? If it is forbidden with non-consecrated f...
"Those who profane it shall be put to death" — the Torah states the punishment for violating the Sabbath. But the Mekhilta asks: from this verse, we know only the punishment. Where...
The Mekhilta has established the punishment and warning for daytime Sabbath labor. But what about labor performed at night — during the evening hours of the Sabbath? The day-based ...
"He rested and was restored" — the Torah says God rested on the seventh day. But from what did He rest? From labor, or from judgment? The Mekhilta uses the word "restored" to deter...
One of the disciples of R. Yishmael asked: What is the intent of "You shall not light a fire"?—From (Devarim 21:21) "And if there be in a man a sin whose judgment is death, then he...
It wasn't always this way, you know. Jewish tradition offers some pretty amazing stories about the creation of the heavens, stories filled with divine power and a touch of… well, c...
We find this incredible scene in the Book of Job (38:1, 38:4-7): God speaks from a whirlwind, a tempest, and essentially asks Job, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundatio...
It’s a question that’s tickled the minds of mystics and dreamers for ages. And believe it or not, there are stories—amazing, vivid stories—that claim to know the answer. One of my ...
Jewish tradition has a powerful image for that feeling, a bridge spanning the terrifying depths of Gehenna. Now, Gehenna – sometimes translated as Hell, but more accurately underst...
King David knew that feeling. And he put it into words that still resonate with us today. (Psalm 31:15). "And my soul is greatly troubled (and you incline your ear), and you, Lord,...
It poses a fascinating question: Did everyone in the nation really know they were eating bread? I know, it sounds strange. But it's not about the physical act of eating, is it? It'...
The rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those brilliant interpreters of scripture, have a lot to say about this verse. Specifically, Midrash Tehillim, the col...
That feeling, that drive, it's woven deep into our stories. to Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings that unpacks the book of Psalms, Tehillim in Hebrew. In this pas...
Psalm 19 isn't just a pretty poem; it's a meditation on the beauty and clarity hidden within God's commandments. And Midrash Tehillim, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpre...
It revolves around Rabban Gamliel, a prominent Jewish leader, and Chalafah ben Kroya, a figure known for his piety. Rabban Gamliel goes to visit Chalafah and asks him for a blessin...
King David certainly did. He grapples with this very dilemma in the Psalms, and the Rabbis of the Midrash Tehillim (a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms) dive deep...
The prophet Malachi tells us, "Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard." (Malachi 3:16). But what does that mean, really? What kind of ...
The ancient rabbis felt that way too. They wrestled with the idea of a God who seemed distant, even asleep, in the face of suffering. This struggle echoes powerfully in Midrash Teh...
We all know the highlights – the Nile turning to blood, swarms of locusts, darkness… But the details, the why and how, are often richer and stranger than we remember. Take the plag...
That’s a question that the ancient Rabbis wrestled with, and their thoughts are preserved for us in the Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms. to ...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. They wrestled with this very idea, and Psalm 82 became a springboard for some powerful teachings about fairness, wealth, and the very foundations ...
The world is full of injustice, arrogance, things that make you want to scream. Does God feel that too? And if so, what does He do with it? Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbin...
The Midrash Tehillim, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, wrestles with this very idea. Rabbi Yitzchak points to (Deuteronomy 33:27), which ...
Very seriously. to a fascinating, and frankly a little spooky, passage from Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms. It touches on somethin...
We humans have always been drawn to the sea, mesmerized by its vastness and power. But what if it’s not just the crash of waves we're hearing? What if there's a deeper conversation...
It talks about the trees of the Lord being "satiated," specifically mentioning the cedars of Lebanon. "The trees of the Lord are satiated, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted." W...
We all know the story: Moses, the Israelites, the desperate flight from Egypt... But the details? Oh, the Rabbis have some thoughts. The book of Psalms (Tehillim) is a constant sou...
King David knew that feeling intimately. And it's in his struggles, laid bare in the Book of Psalms, that we often find solace and a path forward. We're diving into Midrash Tehilli...
Psalm 142 opens with just that kind of repetition: "I cry out to the Lord; I plead with the Lord for mercy." (Psalm 142:1). It's right there in the Hebrew, a doubling down: "my voi...
They didn't have astrophysics, but they had something just as powerful: a rich tapestry of stories and observations. It paints a picture of the sun's path, not as a simple arc, but...
It’s no accident. For millennia, Jewish tradition has seen the moon not just as a celestial body, but as a living symbol of renewal, of cycles, and of profound connection to the di...
The tradition I'm talking about comes from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval text filled with aggadic (story-based) expansions on biblical narratives. In chapter...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating and imaginative work of Jewish literature, tells us that on the fifth day, God commanded the waters to bring forth all kinds of winged fowl, b...
Rabbi Eliezer certainly did. to one of his intriguing interpretations from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, chapter 9. It all starts with a seemingly straightforward verse from (Genesis 1:2...
The story of Jonah is a powerful exploration of just that feeling, and how sometimes, sacrifice – even unwilling sacrifice – can bring calm to the storm. We all know the basic stor...
Jewish tradition has a lot to say about that, and some of the most intriguing glimpses into the future come from a text called Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer. This isn't your typical bibli...
The usual narrative rushes through the creation of woman, but the ancient text Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer – a beautiful and often poetic work of aggadah (Jewish storytelling) – slows u...
